Tehran, October 25,2026: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has called for the complete withdrawal of foreign forces from the region, saying their absence was essential for achieving lasting peace and stability, amid renewed threats of US military action against Iran.
Speaking at an event at the Foreign Ministry in Tehran on Sunday, Araghchi said Iran’s policies would remain unchanged regardless of whether hostilities with the United States and Israel resumed.
“Recently, there has been talk of a new war, but I am already thinking about the post-war period. Whether there is war or not, our policies remain the same,” he said.
Araghchi warned that further military action would not alter Tehran’s position, saying the United States and Israel had already attacked Iran twice and would not achieve a different outcome by repeating their actions.
He also said the conflict had changed the regional security landscape, particularly around the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy supplies.
“The current war has changed everything. We must accept that new realities are taking hold. Shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz will no longer be the same, and the management of the strait will no longer be the same,” he said.
An April 8 ceasefire between Iran and the United States brought an end to the most intense fighting, although sporadic exchanges had continued around the Strait of Hormuz before subsiding in recent weeks.
Tehran has asserted control over the strait and targeted vessels attempting to cross without its authorisation, moves opposed by Washington and regional countries. The United States has maintained a naval counter-blockade on Iranian ports.
Iran has also called for the revival of a memorandum of understanding agreed with Washington in June as a pathway towards a permanent settlement. The proposed arrangement later unravelled, with both sides accusing each other of violating its terms.
Separately, Iran’s army claimed on Sunday that its air defence forces had shot down a US Lucas-type drone over the southern port city of Bandar Abbas.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency, citing the military’s public relations department, reported that the drone was destroyed by air defence systems operating under Iran’s integrated air defence network. The claim had not been independently verified.
The reported incident came after US President Donald Trump said Washington could launch fresh strikes against Iran as early as Sunday or pursue what he described as a “big, beautiful” agreement with Tehran.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Trump said military action remained an option but suggested that a negotiated settlement could prevent further attacks.
“We’re thinking about doing it, and maybe tomorrow,” he said when asked about the possibility of another strike.
Trump added that Iran could avoid further military action by reaching an agreement with Washington, while questioning whether Tehran would honour any deal.
“I may have to finish it off, or maybe they’ll make a deal,” he said.
Ghalibaf warns of response to any violation of Iranian territory
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that any violation of the country’s territorial integrity would trigger a forceful response.
Addressing the opening of a parliamentary session on Sunday, Ghalibaf said Iran would not be intimidated by threats of an all-out war or assassination.
“We will not be intimidated, and we are ready to deliver a response beyond the enemy’s imagination to any violation of the territorial integrity of our great Iran,” he said, according to Press TV.
He added that threats would not force the Iranian people to abandon their rights and national interests.
Meanwhile, Trump said at a campaign rally in Georgia on Saturday that he needed to stop killing Iranian leaders to determine who Washington was negotiating with.
“I gotta stop,” he said, adding that he needed to establish whom the United States was dealing with in the negotiations.
Trump also reiterated his opposition to Iran developing nuclear weapons and defended his 2018 decision to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear agreement reached under former US president Barack Obama.
He claimed that US military operations had destroyed Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and said Washington would seek to ensure that Tehran never acquired a nuclear weapon.
US intelligence warns of alleged threats against Americans
Separately, a senior US intelligence official has warned that Iran has intensified efforts to target American personnel and that alleged plots against US citizens have reached advanced stages.
According to a memo cited by Reuters, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on October 23 that intelligence indicated a substantial increase in Iranian efforts to target US personnel.
“The lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against US citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries,” Clayton wrote, according to the report.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe was also copied on the unclassified memo, which was first reported by Axios.
The warning comes amid escalating regional tensions, including attacks by Yemen’s Houthi group on Saudi targets and growing security concerns around commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Earlier this month, sources told Reuters that Iran was preparing a stronger response if Washington resumed large-scale military attacks on Iranian territory.
The latest developments underscore the continuing uncertainty surrounding diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict, as both Washington and Tehran maintain their positions while the prospect of renewed military confrontation remains.
